How to use Wafer Paper / Rice Paper to make Cake Decorations – 3D Balls, Spheres, wedges

A few weeks on my Instagram and the community page on my YouTube channel, I asked what people wanted to see on the channel and so many people said wafer paper (also known as rice paper). There was a technique I’ve been seeing for a while on Pinterest that I thought would be perfect and I just had to try out for this weeks tutorial.

So this week I’m showing you how you can cut discs from wafer paper and use these to create a stunning modern cake design. I have to admit, this is definitely one of my favourite techniques and I love how delicate and beautiful this technique looks. This would be perfect on birthday or a wedding cake!

You can watch how I made the decorations below ⇩

The Wafer Paper

Wafer paper is also known as rice paper. It is a thin edible sheet that usually comes in white. If you’ve ever tried a piece, and placed it on your tongue it will dissolve. Recently I created a tutorial where I used Vietnamese rice paper to create sails on a cake. The rice paper you need for this technique is a little different and not to be confused. One thing I should also mention is even though wafer paper is known as rice paper it can sometimes be made with potato starch too, but it works in exactly the same way (it can definitely get confusing!)

When rice paper gets damp or wet it starts to go sticky and actually dissolve. If you add on a small amount of water this allows you to stick multiple pieces together. When it dries it then sets very firm. You can also steam rice paper to manipulate it into different shapes. Just make sure it doesn’t absorb too much moisture.

How to make rice paper discs

I don’t know about you but the balls on this cake remind me of making Christmas decorations when I was little or fun paper lanterns. It was the same technique of gluing folded circles in half, but when added to a cake they really do look beautiful and create such a modern design.

I also love the way you can colour the rice paper so easily using edible tint and lustre dust, and by varying the amount of colour you add it gives great mixture of tones. For my balls and wedges I used a 1inch and a 2 inch circle cutter, but you can make them any size, and if you don’t have a craft cutter all you need to do is cut a circle out from some card and use it as a template. You don’t even need to make them circles, maybe change it up with some alternative shapes.

I really hope you enjoyed the tutorial and will find it useful if you want to create some wafer paper decorations for your own cakes.

If you haven’t already you can subscribe to my YouTube channel for more Free cake decorating video tutorials.

Tools I Used

I have put a list below showing all the tools that I used throughout this video or if you would like to see all my favourite cake decorating tools just click here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/cakesbylynz

Wafer Paper: https://tidd.ly/39URxsh
2 inch Punch (similar): https://amzn.to/3Fbs4cr
1 inch Punch (similar): https://amzn.to/3B1bwl8
Fluffy Brush: https://bit.ly/2Y6InWS (Use code CAKESBYLYNZ for 10% off)
Sugarflair Dusky Pink Tint: https://amzn.to/3D2FtSp
Sweetsticks Pink Diamond Lustre: https://bit.ly/2ZOPUL5 (Use code CAKESBYLYNZ for 10% off)
Edible Glue: https://tidd.ly/3B2RvdP
Turntable: https://amzn.to/35u3QJB

~ Please note that some of links above may be affiliate links. If you click the link and purchase any item through that link, I will receive a small commission from the website but this does NOT add any additional costs to you. Thank you so much for supporting this blog x ~

Plus why not save this tutorial for later and pin it to Pinterest